Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 508,524 Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,675,827 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 508,524 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Abbott Laboratories worth $1,103,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter worth $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT opened at $112.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $195.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.36.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $10.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.37 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.65%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratories’s payout ratio is 68.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler Companies began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,617,068.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.